Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this is a narrow amendment, one that I think is very appropriate and necessary, given the apparent loss of credibility that our judiciary system is suffering in this country. It is narrow in the sense that it amends the law which allows a Federal judge in death penalty cases to award court-appointed lawyers for these death row inmates an unlimited amount per hour, completely in the court's own discretion, as to what that rate may be. We think it would be appropriate that we set some constraints on this. We want to ensure that the judiciary does remain independent, and as part of that fee-setting this is necessary. On the other hand, we think also that the courts should be accountable to the taxpayers, in particular, for some potentially outrageous awards per hour that they award the court-appointed attorneys. We have heard instances in the past where the courts have awarded these lawyers up to $250 an hour for their work both in court and out of court, which is much higher an hour than the rate allowed for other cases. We also think that in these awards of attorneys' fees and expenses, there ought to be a requirement to the American public, to the taxpayers, that these be made public. And this amendment also requires public disclosure of these fees.”